No tools modular sofa

ABSTRACT

A modular sofa that can be assembled without the use of tools or special assembly skill. The modular sofa includes two identical L-shaped halves which are laid one over the other prior to assembly to create an efficient configuration for receipt within a compact shipping container. During assembly, the L-shaped halves of the sofa are connected together without the use of tools. Each sofa half has a seat box, an upstanding arm fixedly connected to the seat box, and a sofa back detachably connected to the seat box and to the upstanding arm of the seat box without the use of tools. The seat box and the sofa back of each sofa half have a hollow compartment to which manual access is permitted and in which fasteners are located and manipulated without the use of tools during the assembly of the sofa.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

This, invention relates to a modular sofa which can be relatively quickly and easily assembled without the use of tools or without special skill. The modular sofa has identical L-shaped halves which can be laid one on top of the other so that the sofa can to be shipped disassembled in an efficient configuration in a compact shipping container.

2. Background Art

Large pieces of furniture, such as sofas, and the like, are typically shipped from a location of manufacture to a location, of sale and finally to the public for use. The large and bulky nature of this furniture contributes to the purchase price paid by consumers. That is to say, as a consequence of its space-consuming size, relatively large shipping vessels are required to move the furniture from place-to-place. Moreover, relatively large storage facilities are necessary to accommodate the furniture while in transit from location-to-location. Unlike smaller articles that are capable of being transported and stored in compact shipping containers, larger pieces of furniture are not ideally suitable to be palletized. In addition, more than one workman may be necessary to handle the loading and transport of the furniture from its initial point of manufacture to its final point of sale, in this same regard, purchasers may not be able to easily lift and transport their furniture from the location of purchase to the location of use.

Accordingly, what would be desirable is a modular sofa that can be shipped, warehoused and carried home disassembled in a compact shipping container, whereby to reduce the cost and inconvenience normally associated with the transport of large and bulky articles of furniture from the manufacturer to the end user. It would also be desirable for the sofa to be capable of being assembled without the use of tools or the requirement of special skill.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In general terms, a modular sofa is disclosed which can be assembled without the use of tools and which can be shipped disassembled in a compact shipping container to reduce storage space, facilitate transport, and reduce shipping costs. The modular sofa has identical L-shaped halves which are detachably connected together during assembly. As an important feature by which to enable the modular sofa to be arranged in a convenient shipping configuration, each sofa half includes a seat box that is affixed at one side thereof to an upstanding arm. During assembly of the sofa, the seat boxes are moved side-by-side and connected to one another without the use of tools by means of threaded, connector pins earned by rotatable hand knobs so that the upstanding sofa arms are arranged in spaced parallel alignment.

A firm sofa back is mounted at the rear of each seat box of each of the sofa halves by means of locating slotted bayonet fitting which project downwardly from the back supports within bayonet receipt openings formed in the seat boxes. The sofa backs are connected to each other and to the upstanding arms of the sofa without the use of tools by means of threaded connector pins carried by rotatable hand knobs. A set of screw-on feet are attached to the bottom of each seat box of each sofa hall Comfortable back rests are then laid against the firm sofa backs, and seat cushions are laid on top of the seat, boxes to support the weight of one or more individuals seated on the sofa. At the same time, arm pillows may be laid against the upstanding arms at opposite sides of the sofa against which a seated individual may lean.

To enable the modular sofa to be ready for shipment in a compact shipping container prior to assembly, one of the L-shaped sofa halves is turned upside down and laid on top of the other one of the sofa halves. In this configuration, the respective seat boxes of the sofa halves lie in spaced opposite facing alignment with the seat cushions sandwiched therebetween. The sofa backs of the sofa are conveniently stored and carried during transit inside hollow compartments that are formed in the seal boxes.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows a fully assembled no tools modular sofa in accordance with a preferred embodiment of this invention;

FIG. 2 shows the sofa of FIG. 1 separated into identical L-shaped halves and each sofa half having a seat box and a sofa arm fixedly connected to one side of the seat box;

FIGS. 3 and 4 show a sofa hack being connected to the seat box of one of the halves of the sots of FIG. 2 without the use of tools;

FIGS. 5 and 6 show the sofa halves being moved side-by-side and connected to one another without the use of tools;

FIGS. 7 and 8 show back and bottom flaps of the sofa being opened to permit manual access to hollow compartments formed in the seat boxes and the seat backs to enable the sofa to be assembled;

FIG. 9 shows the fully assembled no tools modular sofa of FIG. 1 having back rests, seat cushions and arm pillows laying thereon so as to ready for use; and

FIG. 10 shows the identical L-shaped halves of the no tools modular sofa laid one on top of the other to create an efficient shipping configuration for receipt by a compact shipping container.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

A no-tools modular sofa 1 in accordance with a preferred embodiment of this invention is initially described while referring to FIGS. 1 and 2 of the drawings. As will be described in greater detail hereinafter, the modular sofa 1 is adapted to be shipped disassembled in an efficient shipping configuration in a compact shipping container. In this way, the modular sofa 1 can be conveniently shipped prior to assembly from a manufacturer to a retailer and then driven home by an end user without consuming a large amount of space or requiring a special-sized vehicle to be able to accommodate the sofa for transport. Moreover, once the modular sofa 1 reaches its final destination, it can be removed from its shipping container to be relatively quickly and easily assembled without the use of tools or the requirement for special assembly skill.

The no-tools modular sofa 1 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 has two separate and identical L-shaped halves 3 and 5 which enable an efficient configuration to be achieved by which the sofa can be shipped disassembled, in a compact shipping container after which the halves 3 and 5 are removed by the user and connected together at their final destination. Each L-shaped half 3 and 5 of the modular sofa 1 includes a seat box 7-1 and 7-2 and an integrally connected upstanding arm 9-1 and 9-2 affixed at one side (i.e., the outside) of each seat box 7-1 and 7-2. In the assembled sofa arrangement shown in FIG. 1, the upstanding arms 9-1 and 9-2 lie in spaced parallel alignment with one another at opposite sides of the sofa, and the seat boxes 7-1 and 7-2 are detachable connected together in order to support a corresponding pair of seat cushions lying thereon (best shown in FIG. 9). The seat boxes 7-1 and 7-2 are preferably manufactured from plywood and include a cushion foam material and a plurality of coils embedded within the foam material to enhance the comfort of one using the sofa 1.

A pair of firm sofa backs 10-1 and 10-2 are detachable connected to respective ones of the halves 3 and 5 of the modular sofa 1 at a seat box 7-1, 7-2 and an upstanding arm 9-1, 9-2. thereof. In the assembled sofa arrangement shown in FIG. 1, the sofa backs 10-1 and 10-2 lie side-by-side at the rear of seat boxes 7-1 and 7-2 and against the arms 9-1 and 9-2. The firm sofa backs 10-1 and 10-2 are sufficiently tall to support a corresponding pair of comfortable back rests lying thereagainst. (also best shown in FIG. 9) once the sofa 1 has been assembled.

Sets of screw-on feet 12-1 and 12-2 are detachably connected to respective ones of the halves 3 and 5 of the modular sofa 1. In the assembled sofa arrangement shown in FIG, 1, the sets of feet 12-1 and 12-2 lie at the bottom of the seat boxes 7-1 and 7-2. In particular, and as is best shown in FIG. 8, a set of two feet 12-1 lie at the bottom of one seat box 7-1 of a first half 3 of the sofa 1, and a set of four feet 12-2 lie at the bottom of the other seat box 7-2 of the second half 5 of the sofa. As is best shown in FIG. 9, the sets of feet 12-1 and 12-2 lie on the floor to support the weight of the sofa 1 and any user seated thereon.

The construction and assembly of the no tools modular sofa 1 shown in FIG. 1 are now described while referring concurrently to FIGS. 2-8 of the drawings. Turning first to FIGS. 2-4, details are provided by which the pair of firm sofa backs 10-1 and 10-2 are detachably connected to respective ones of the seat boxes 7-1 and 7-2 of the halves 3 and 5 of the sofa 1. Each sofa back 10-1 and 10-2 has a pair of conventional slotted bayonet fittings 14 and 16 extending downwardly from the opposite sides thereof. Likewise, each seat, box 7-1 and 7-2 has a pair of bayonet receipt openings 18 and 20 located at the rear thereof so as to be located and steed to receive respective pairs of the bayonet fittings 14 and 16 therewithin.

A downward pushing force applied to one of the pair of sofa backs (e.g., 10-1 of FIGS. 3 and 4) towards a corresponding one of the seat boxes (e.g., 7-2) pushes the pairs of slotted bayonet fittings (e.g., 16) thereof inwardly through respective ones of the pairs of bayonet receipt openings (e.g., 20). Each of the pair of bayonet fittings 16 is engaged at one of a series of locking slots formed therein by a conventional spring-loaded locking tab (not shown) that is located inside the seat box 7-2. That is, the locking tabs snap into locking engagement, with the pair of slotted bayonet fittings 16 to lock the fittings in place and thereby hold the sofa back 10-2 at the rear of its seat box 7-2 and alongside a corresponding arm 9-2 that is affixed to and stands upwardly from the outside of the seat box 7-2.

As was previously explained, to enable it to assume an efficient shipping configuration during transport, the modular sofa 1 has a pair of identical halves 3 and 5 which are shipped separated from one another and connected together during assembly. Referring in this regard to FIGS. 5 and 6, with the sofa hacks 10-1 and 10-2 connected thereto, the individual, sofa halves 3 and 5 are turned so that the fronts of the pair of seat boxes 7-1 and 7-2 are spaced from one another and lie on the floor. To achieve several advantages of this invention which will be explained later on, each of the seat boxes 7-1 and 7-2 has a hollow interior compartment 22-1 and 2.2-2 which is sized and accessible to permit assembly of the sofa, and enable storage therewithin when the sofa halves 5 and 7 are shipped prior to their being connected together.

With the individual sofa halves 3 and 5 positioned in spaced alignment as shown in FIG. 5, the seat boxes 7-1 and 7-2 are pushed towards one another until the sofa halves 3 and 5 lie side-by-side as shown in FIG. 6. With the sofa halves 3 and 5 positioned one against the other, a first pair of threaded holes 26 formed through one side of one seat box. 7-1 (best shown in FIG. 5) are axially aligned with a second pair of threaded holes 28 formed through the opposing side of the adjacent seat box 7-2. A pair of threaded connector pins carried by rotatable hand knobs 30 are rotated in a first direction at the hollow compartment 22-1 of the first seat box 7-1 so as to be removably received at the hollow compartment 22-2 of the other seat box 7-2 through the axially aligned pairs of threaded holes 26 and 28. Accordingly, the adjacent seat boxes 7-1 and 7-2 are attached one to the other, and the L-shaped halves 3 and 5 of the modular sofa 1 are detachably connected together without the use of tools. Should it be necessary to separate the seat boxes 7-1 and 7-2 and disconnect the sofa halves 3 and 5, the rotatable hand knobs 30 can be rotated in an opposite direction so as to remove the connection pins.

Like the seat, boxes 7-1 and 7-2, each of the pair of firm sofa backs 10-1 and 10-2 connected to respective ones of the sofa halves 3 and 5 has a hollow interior compartment 24-1 and 24-2 which is accessible during assembly of the sofa 1. With the sofa halves 3 and 5 pushed together and detachably connected to one another by means of the threaded connector pins earned by the rotatable hand knobs 30, a first threaded hole 32 formed through one side of one sofa back 10-1 is axially aligned with a second threaded hole 34 formed through the opposing side of the adjacent sofa back 10-2. A threaded connector pin carried by a rotatable hand knob 36 is rotated at the hollow compartment 24-1 of the first sofa back 10-1 so as to be received at the hollow compartment 24-2 of the other sofa back 10-2 through the axially aligned threaded, holes 32 and 34. Accordingly, the adjacent sofa backs 10-1 and 10-2 are retained side-by-side without the use of tools.

While the adjacent sofa backs 10-1 and 10-2 are retained side-by-side as just explained, each sofa back is also detachably connected to a respective one of the upstanding arms 9-1 and 9-2 which are fixedly connected to the seat boxes 7-1 and 7-2. Referring concurrently in this regard to FIGS. 3-6, a first threaded hole 38 (best shown in FIG. 3) formed through the outside of one sofa back (e.g., 10-2) is axially aligned, with a second threaded hole 40 formed in the adjacent sofa arm (e.g., 9-2). A threaded connector pin carried by a rotatable hand knob 42 is rotated within the hollow compartment 24-2 of the sofa back 10-2 so as to be received by the adjacent arm 9-2 through the axially aligned threaded holes 38 and 40 to hold sofa back 10-2 against arm 9-2 without the use of tools. The other sofa back 10-1 is detachable connected to its adjacent sofa arm 9-1 of the seat box 7-1 in a manner that is the same as that just described to connect sofa back 10-2 to sofa arm 9-2.

As just explained, in order to hold the seat boxes 7-1 and 7-2 together as well as to connect the pair of sofa backs 10-1 and 10-2 to one another and to the sofa arms 9-1 and 9-2 which stand upwardly from the hollow seat boxes 7-1 and 7-2, access is necessary to the hollow compartments 22-1, 22-2 and 24-1, 24-2 of each of the seat boxes 7-1 and 7-2 and each of the sofa backs 10-1 and 10-2. To accomplish the foregoing and referring now to FIGS. 7 and 8, the bottom of each of the seat boxes 7-1 and 7-2 has a removable cover 46-1 and 46-2 extending thereacross.

First ends of the removable covers 46-1 and. 46-2 are fixedly attached (e.g., by means of stitching) to the bottoms of the seat boxes 7-1 and 7-2. The opposite free ends of the covers 46-1 and 46-2 are removably attached by means of (e.g., hook and loop Velcro) fasteners 48 and 49 to the bottoms of seat boxes 7-1 and 7-2. The removable free ends of the covers 46-1 and 46-2 may be detached from the fasteners 48 and 49 and pulled between an open position as shown in FIG. 7, at which to permit manual access to the hollow compartments 22-1 and 22-2 of the seat boxes 7-1 and 7-2 to enable the sofa 1 to be assembled, and a closed position as shown in FIG. 8, at which the covers 46-1 and 46-2 are reattached and the hollow compartments 22-1 and 22-2 of the seat, boxes 7-1 and 7-2 are now closed. It may be appreciated that the sets of screw-on feet 12-1 and 12-2 cannot be connected to the bottoms of the seat boxes 7-1 and 7-2 until the sofa 1 has been assembled and the covers 46-1 and 46-2 are pulled to the closed position of FIG. 8.

Likewise, the rear of each of the firm sofa backs 10-1 and 10-2 has a removable flap 50-1 and 50-2 extending thereacross. First ends of the removable flaps 50-1 and 50-2 are fixedly attached, to the top of the sofa backs 10-1 and 10-2. The opposite free ends of the flaps 50-1 and 50-2 are removably attached by means of a (e.g., Velcro) fastener 52 to the bottoms of the sofa backs 10-1 and 10-2. The removable free ends of the flaps 50-1 and 50-2 may be detached from their fasteners 52 and pulled between an open position as shown in FIG. 7, at which to permit manual access to the hollow compartments 24-1 and 24-2 of the sofa backs 10-1 and 10-2 to enable the sofa 1 to be assembled, and a closed position as shown in FIG. 8, at which the Haps 50-1 and 50-2 are reattached and the hollow compartments 24-1 and 24-2 of the sofa backs 10-1 and 10-2 are now closed.

FIG. 9 of the drawings shows the no tools modular sofa 1 following its assembly with the sets of screw-on feet 12-1 and 12-2 resting on the floor. In this case, a pair of seat cushions 58-1 and 58-2 are laid over respective ones of the seat boxes 7-1 and 7-2 to support the weight of individuals seated on the sofa. A pair of comfortable back rests 58-1 and 58-2 are laid against respective ones of the firm sofa backs 10-1 and 10-2 to support the backs of individuals seated on the sofa. Optional arm pillows 60-1 and 60-2 are shown propped against respective ones of the arms 9-1 and 9-2 which stand upwardly from the seat boxes 7-1 and 7-2 against which individuals seated on the sofa can lean.

Turning now to FIG. 10 of the drawings, the no tools sofa is shown disassembled prior to its assembly in the manner shown in FIG. 9. The sofa disassembly of FIG. 10 has an efficient configuration to permit its shipment in a compact shipping container 70. To achieve this efficient shipping configuration, one of the L-shaped sofa halves (e.g., 5) is turned upside down and laid on top of the other one of the L-shaped halves 3. Thus, the seat box 7-2 of the one sofa half 5 is laid on and supported by the upstanding sofa arm 9-1 of the other sofa half 3. At the same time, the sofa arm 9-2 of the sofa half 5 is laid on and supported by the seat box. 7-1 of the other sofa half 3.

Prior to the L-shaped sofa halves being loaded into the shipping container 70, the firm sofa backs 10-1 and 10-2 are placed inside the hollow compartments 22-1 and 22-2 of respective ones of the seat boxes 7-1 and 7-2 of the sofa halves 3 and 5. Following this step, the sofa half 3 is loaded into the container 70. The seat cushions 56-1 and 56-2 are then stacked one above the other, and the stack is seated upon the seat box 7-1 of the sofa half 3. The efficient shipping configuration is completed when the L-shaped sofa, half 5 is turned upside down and loaded into the container 70 so as to lay on top of the L-shaped sofa half 3 as previously explained. However, so as not to consume additional space in the container 70, the stack of seat cushions 56-1 and 56-2 is advantageously sandwiched between the opposing seat, boxes 7-1 and 7-2 and enclosed by the upstanding sofa arms 9-1 and 9-2 of the sofa halves 3 and 5. 

1. A no tools modular sofa comprising: a first sofa portion including a first seat box to support the weight of an individual who is seated on said first sofa portion, said first seal box having first and opposite sides; a second sofa portion including a second seat box to support the weight of an individual who is seated on said second sofa portion, said second seat box having first and opposite sides; a first sofa arm fixedly connected to and standing upwardly from the first side of said first seat box of said first sofa portion; a second sofa arm fixedly connected to and standing upwardly from the first side of said second seat box of said second sofa portion, such that said first and second sofa arms are disposed in spaced parallel alignment with one another; and at least one fastener by which the opposite sides of said first and second seat boxes are attached to one another without the use of tools such that said first and second sofa portions are connected together.
 2. The no tools modular sofa recited in claim 1, wherein said first and second sofa portions are identical halves each having an L-shape and being connected together, such that the opposite sides of said first and second seat boxes are attached one to the other.
 3. The no tools modular sofa recited in claim 2, wherein said at least one fastener is removable from the opposite sides of said first and second seat boxes without the use of tools so that said first and second seat boxes are detached and said first and second sofa portions are disconnected from one another.
 4. The no tools modular sofa recited in claim 1, wherein each of said first and second seat boxes of said first and second sofa portions has a hollow compartment, said at least one fastener extending between the hollow compartments of said first and second seat boxes by which said seat boxes are attached to one another.
 5. The no tools modular sofa recited in claim 4, wherein said at least one fastener has a rotatable hand knob connected to a threaded connector pin, said rotatable hand knob being located within the hollow compartment of one of said first and second seat boxes and said threaded connector pin extending between the hollow compartments of said first and second seat boxes.
 6. The no tools modular sofa recited in claim 4, wherein each of said first and second seat boxes has a cover lying over and covering the hollow compartment thereof, said covers being removable from said first and second seat boxes without the use of tools to permit manual access to the hollow compartments of said first and second seat boxes.
 7. The no tools modular sofa recited in claim 1, further comprising a first sofa back connected to the first seat box of said first sofa portion without the use of tools and a second sofa back connected to the second seat box of said second sofa portion without the use of tools.
 8. The no tools modular sofa recited in claim 7, wherein each of said first and second sofa backs has a connector depending downwardly therefrom and each of said first and second seat boxes has a connector receipt opening formed therein, each of the connectors depending downwardly from said first and second sofa backs being located within a respective connector receipt opening by which said first and second sofa backs are connected to said first and second seat boxes.
 9. The no tools modular sofa recited in claim 7, wherein each of said first and second sofa backs of said first and second sofa portions has first and opposite sides, the first side of said first sofa back being connected to the first sofa arm of said first seat box without the use of tools, the first side of said second sofa back being connected to the second sofa arm of said second seat box without the use of tools, and the opposite sides of said first and second, sofa backs being connected to one another without the use of tools.
 10. The no tools modular sofa recited in claim 9, wherein each of said first and second sofa backs of said first and second sofa portions has a hollow compartment, said modular sofa further comprising a first fastener extending between the hollow compartment of said first sofa back and the first sofa arm of said first seat box and a second fastener extending between the hollow compartment of said second sofa back and the second sofa arm of said second seat box.
 11. The no tools modular sofa recited in claim 10, further comprising a third fastener extending between the hollow compartments of said first and second sofa backs and through the opposite sides of said first and second sofa backs.
 12. The no tools modular sofa recited in claim 11, wherein said first fastener has a rotatable hand knob connected to a threaded connector pin, said rotatable hand knob being located within the hollow compartment of said first sofa back and said threaded connector pin extending between the hollow compartment of said first sofa back and the first sofa arm of said first seat box.
 13. The no tools modular sofa recited in claim 12, wherein said second fastener has a rotatable hand knob connected to a threaded connector pin, the rotatable hand knob of said second fastener being located within the hollow compartment of said second sofa back and the threaded connector pin thereof extending between the hollow compartment of said second sofa back and the second sofa arm of said second seat box.
 14. The no tools modular sofa recited in claim 13, wherein said third fastener has a rotatable hand knob connected to a threaded connector pin, the rotatable hand knob of said third fastener being located within the hollow compartment of one of said first and second sofa backs and the threaded connector pin thereof extending between the hollow compartments of said first and second sofa backs.
 15. The no tools modular sofa recited in claim 10, wherein each of said first and second sofa backs has a flap lying over and covering the hollow compartment thereof said flaps being removable from said first and second sofa backs without the use of tools to permit manual access to the hollow compartments of said first and second sofa backs.
 16. The no tools modular sofa recited in claim 1, further comprising first and second sets of feet connected without the use of tools to respective ones of the first and second seat boxes of said first and second sofa portions.
 17. A method for configuring a sofa disassembly prior to assembly for packaging within a shipping container, wherein said sofa disassembly includes; a first sofa portion including a first seat box having first and opposite sides and a hollow compartment located between said first and opposite sides, and a first sofa arm fixedly connected to and projecting from the first side of said first seat box; and a second sofa portion including a second seat box having first and opposite sides and a hollow compartment located between said first and opposite sides, and a second sofa arm fixedly connected to and projecting from the first side of said second seat box; and said method for configuring comprising the step of positioning said second sofa portion on top of said first sofa portion such that the hollow compartment of the second seat box of said second sofa portion is spaced above and separated from the hollow compartment of the first seat box of said first sofa portion, the opposite side of said second seat box lays on the first sofa arm projecting from the first side of said first seat box, and the second sofa arm projecting from the first side of said second seat box lays on the opposite side of said first seat box.
 18. The method for configuring recited in claim 17, wherein said sofa disassembly also includes a first sofa back to be connected to said first seat box during assembly and a second sofa back to be connected to said second seat box during assembly, said method comprising the additional steps of locating said first sofa back prior to assembly within the hollow compartment of the first seat box of said first sofa portion; and locating said second sofa back prior to assembly within the hollow compartment of the second seat box of said second sofa portion.
 19. The method for configuring recited in claim 17, wherein said sofa disassembly also includes a first seat cushion to be laid on said first seat box during assembly and a second seat cushion to be laid on said second seat box during assembly, said method comprising the additional step of laying said first and second seat cushions prior to assembly one on top of the other between the first and second seat boxes of said first and second sofa portions such that said first and second seat cushions are enclosed by said first and second sofa arms projecting from respective ones of the first and second seat boxes.
 20. The method for configuring recited in claim 17, wherein said first and second portions of said sofa disassembly are identical halves each having an L-shape. 